


Because of You

by roxyryoko



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Annette Week (Fire Emblem), F/M, Flying, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:20:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24125770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roxyryoko/pseuds/roxyryoko
Summary: “But I’m so bored!” Annette whined and shot a pout back at him, but a moment later a gleeful smile spread onto her lips. “I know! Why don’t we play a game? Every time one of us sees an animal we shout out its name and whoever— ”“No,” he cut her off. “We’re not supposed to be having fun. We’re on a mission.”Annette’s smile turned upside-down instantly, and a thorn pricked his heart.Annette convinces Felix to play a game as they fly to their destination.Annette Week Day 3: Joy
Relationships: Annette Fantine Dominic/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 22
Kudos: 80





	Because of You

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you Kaerra for helping me fix up the song. :) 
> 
> This is my first felannie fic. They are actually one of my otps of the game but I’ve never written them before now.

“Look over there, Felix!” Annette bubbled, as she leaned over the side of her winged steed, pointing at something in the field far below.

Felix did not know nor care what that something was. He was far more concerned with her body tilting further and further over the side of her mount, coming dangerously close to sliding out of the saddle. The thought of her free-falling through the clouds did not sit well with him.

“See it?" she chirped. "That horse has such a cute pattern!”

Felix's grip tightened around her waist and he tugged her back, righting her alarming position on the pegasus.

“Do you have a death wish?” he chided. “You see horses everyday. One’s not worth falling from the sky.”

Annette ignored his harsh tone and straightened her back as if that would prove his scolding unwarranted.

“Crumpet wouldn’t let me fall,” she said in defense, cooing and petting the ebony muzzle of the pegasus. “Isn’t that right, girl?”

The mare responded with a flick of her ears and tossed her head, snorting some response that Annette seemed to confuse for actual speech. Annette giggled and ran her hand affectionately through Crumpet’s mane before returning to the reins. 

“A beast has no power over the recklessness of its owner,” Felix scolded again. His concerned tone caused Annette to stiffen under his hands still clutching her waist. “Ingrid’s not here to save you if you slip up again.”

She raised her nose high and said with a humph, “That was then, and this is now! I’ve been practicing with Ingrid every day. For your information, I’m quite an adequate flier now.”

Felix shifted restlessly in the saddle, his discomfort only worsening. He hated how every muscle in his back felt tight and stiff, he hated the nauseating way the creature would bob and weave, but most of all he hated the dependence— the utter lack of control. A sword heeded to his will as an extension of his arm, but atop a beast _he_ was the extension, bound to its whims and frights despite foolhardy beliefs otherwise. 

Annette swiveled around curiously again, looking farther and wider than necessary to navigate.

“A demonstration of your adequacy is in order then,” Felix said flatly. “Stop moving around and prove it.”

“But I’m so bored!” Annette whined and shot a pout back at him, but a moment later a gleeful smile spread onto her lips. “I know! Why don’t we play a game? Every time one of us sees an animal we shout out its name and whoever— ”

“No,” he cut her off. “We’re not supposed to be having fun. We’re on a mission.”

Annette’s smile turned upside-down instantly, and a thorn pricked his heart. “But we won’t be at Derdriu for hours! We can play a game for a little bit, can’t we? Once we’re close, I’ll be stoic and serious just like you. Promise!”

She waited expectantly for his mind to change, but Felix's lips were locked tight in a thin line. Moments passed, but he did not yield. An unconvincing scowl appeared on her face.

She added a weak threat, “If not, then we can go over _all_ the incantations and formulas outlined in the fifth volume of The Compendium of Light and Dark.”

With a huff he relented, “Fine.” However much he hated flying, he hated seeing her disappointed even more.

Annette cheered all too childishly and beamed back at him. “I knew you couldn’t possibly be _that_ much of a stick in the mud.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “Explain the rules before I change my mind.”

“Right, sorry,” she said and her grin turned sheepish. “Okay! It’s simple! You just call out the name of an animal when you see it. Every animal counts for one point. We compare who has more points at the end. Sounds fun, right?”

“Just make sure this game doesn’t kill us.”

Annette snapped back around, losing her balance momentarily with a yelp. In response, Crumpet startled and swerved. Felix stifled his own utterances and hoped Annette didn’t notice how his fingers gripped tighter on her hips. Quickly, she regained control and straightened once again. They flew straight and proper for a few minutes before she began the game in earnest.

With a giddy hum, she glanced down over the front-left of the pegasus. Felix watched her cautiously, but this time she seemed determined to prove her aptitude and didn’t lean too haphazardly.

“Cow!” she exclaimed suddenly after a few seconds of searching. “Two of them.”

Felix did not look down.

“Pegasus,” he contributed, unenthused.

Annette peered around, tossing her head up and down, left and right. “Really? You see another one?”

“No. Just this one.”

With an amused expression, she looked back at Felix and stated, “Crumpet doesn’t count.”

“Why not?” Felix demanded, not hiding his annoyance.

She paused a moment, drawing her brows in thought, and then replied, “Because!” as if that explained anything.

“Because _why_?”

“Because we’re riding her!” 

He smirked. “Fine. Annette.” 

She laughed in turn. “I don’t count either, Felix!”

Finally deciding to humor her, he glanced quickly to the right. After all, that giggle and that smile made even a silly game worthwhile. Not so far away a bird flitted out from behind a cloud.

“Sparrow.”

“There you go! That counts.”

With a final bright smile, she turned back around and began her search anew. They flew through the air at a steady clip, soaring over glittering rivers, dense forests, and ravaged farmland. Annette dotted the silence by enthusiastically pointing out her latest sightings.

“A sheep! Aw, a baby one, too!”

“I think that’s a fox! What do you think, Felix?”

“Nope! That’s a monster! Wah! Glad we’re up here.”

Periodically, Felix joined in with his own dry observations.

“Hawk.”

“Geese.”

“Wyvern...what are you doing? Don’t fly closer to it!”

As time passed, Annette turned the game into a song, cheerfully recounting their journey. Felix contributed less and less, but she didn’t seem to mind.

_“Fluffy sheep and sly foxes below, they can’t see us in the sky._

_Up, up so high, higher than the birds can fly._

_Three tiny cows— no, four! No five!_

_Hawks swooping down, down, just trying to thrive._

_And all the pretty little horses,_

_roaming free as the endless river courses.”_

Under the spell of her voice, Felix’s body relaxed. The sweet, intoxicating melody that fluttered out of her lungs soothed his every stiff muscle and calmed all the fears he’d never admit he had. He rested his chin on her shoulder and his grip around her waist shifted into an embrace.

Her siren call always stripped away the aloof demeanor he wrestled to maintain. Perhaps it didn’t matter if _Annette_ took away some of his control— a _beast_ , surely not. Felix had succumbed moons ago to being her captive. He was helpless against those bright blue eyes, those constellations of freckles, and her lighthearted, ethereal songs. Because of Annette, he could drop his guard and could smile a little wider. Even a silly game didn't seem so pointless.

Annette paused her song for a moment and pressed her cheek against his. “See?” she chirped. “It’s fun, right?”

He let out a deep breath. “I suppose I don’t dislike this game.” 


End file.
